Question of the Day

When do you know that your child is in need of new shoes?

Well, I finally figured out how! When he starts walking funny, the shoes literally "pop" off his feet during the day, and he starts falling more often!

I just started noticing within the last week or so that Bear Cub's shoes were getting a bit harder to put on and that he was walking a little funny. Even yesterday, a good friend of mine that was over with her son, said something to the effect of, "Wow, he's really grown...so much that it looks like he might topple over because his feet are still so small!"

No, his feet were not still that small. His mother was just still jamming his bigger feet into these tiny shoes. Oops! So now I know the signs of when my son needs new shoes.

After a fun visit with some great friends today, I took Bear Cub to Stride Rite and sure enough, our boy's feet have finally grown! His first pair of sneakers (bought in October) were a size 3 (yes, very small feet!) and today's new pair are a 4 1/2. He literally RAN around the store in these shoes. He also ran out of the store several times, thus proving to the saleswoman and me that these were indeed the shoes to buy. He's a speed demon now!

Here are some pictures of his shoe line-up. When we first brought him home from Russia (at 13 months old), he was not walking so he wore only the little leather race car slippers. He then progressed to the white sneakers and here we are now with the new ones! Yeah!!!

So next time someone tells me that it looks like my boy might topple over, I'll take that as my clue to go shoe shopping. ;)

Hey, this new mom still has some learning to do!

Look at the difference between his first little slippers & his new shoes! Wow!

It was time to do some hard-core reading after our busy day of visiting with friends and shopping! Notice...the shoes are still on!

Got milk?

This boy of ours loves his whole milk! I can only imagine how many gallons we'll be buying for him when he's a teenager...
Chug-a-lug...
Throwing an empty milk container is even more fun than drinking it!

The dog days of winter...

Here are some pictures from the last few days. You'll see that our pooch, Zoe, has a lot to put up with now that Bear Cub is around. She's very tolerant though and he absolutely loves her! By the time he goes to bed at night, Zoe is zonked out, as you'll see in some of the photos.


Have a great weekend! I'm looking forward to a relaxing one at home! :)

Zoe says, "Mom...please! Make it stop!"

"Oh geez...he's walking me again."Having a good belly laugh before bath..."What happened to my old life?"

"It's hard work chasing after a toddler all day long..."

Future football star? Or motorcross maybe?

So yesterday the Bear Cub and I headed outside for a little fun. You know it's been a boring day when the fun actually happens on the driveway, of all places. He has a hand-me-down motorized 4-wheeler that he sometimes sits on and drives, but mostly he likes pushing and pulling it onto the grass. Like I said, what a fun day we had. ;)

Also in our garage we have a few balls to play with. Now mind you, I don't know much about sports. In fact, much to my husband's dismay, I still don't understand why a football gets punted and why they "take a knee" sometimes. He has explained this to me many, many times, but I just don't get it! Oh well. So my philosophy on football is "cheer when everyone else does" and throw in a few "Oh, nice play!" or "Awesome catch!" every once in a while. I'm faking my way through this all, obviously.

Here are some pictures of BC and I playing a little football outside. I do know what it means to hike the ball though and I feel like he is in supreme hiking position in the one photo. Of course, who hikes the ball in the game....that I couldn't tell ya. The center maybe? Oy...I need The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football, for sure!



Along with his daddy, I am trying to foster a love of many different activities in this boy of ours, so I will even dabble in the unknown world of sports. All for the sake of love... and hopes of a $10 million contract in the NFL one day. :)

Let the driveway excitement begin!

Ready, set, hike!

Just some good 'ol toddler fun...

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! It was pretty chilly and wet here this weekend, but now the sun is shining again and it's all good! Bear Cub had a very busy weekend, starting on Friday afternoon when we went into Orlando to visit Grandma & Grandpa Bear at their hotel. We had a really nice visit and BC had fun exploring the beautiful hotel, climbing the stairs, and making friends along the way with the hotel staff. He even came away from it all with 2 new stuffed animals! Pays to be cute, I guess. :)

On Saturday, BC and I headed to Jacksonville for my best friend's birthday party. We helped her say good-bye to her 20s. Sniff, sniff. Hey, my turn is coming in just 5 short months...

We had a great time and BC had some fun playing with her little boy and his cousins. Needless to say, we were all tired that night! Happy birthday again to my BFF!

Believe it or not, I did not take any pictures from our busy weekend (gasp!). So here are a few from last week when BC and Zoe spotted a tiny lizard on our porch screen. BC was fascinated by it and even was able to catch it. He very gently put it back on the screen and clapped for his good deed afterwards. I'm sorry to say that Zoe was not so gentle... but no pictures were taken of that particular lizard experience.

There it is...at the tip of his finger...

Just about got it!

Getting a ride from Mama...

Is the Mer-Man a new style?

No, no it is not. This is just what happened last night when Daddy changed Bear Cub's diaper.

What?!?! There's 2 pant legs for a reason?!?! No worries...this little error was quickly fixed after Mama & Daddy had a good laugh (and photo op) over it.

P.S. Sorry, Daddy Bear...I just had to post it! ;)

A Memory

This is a little story in honor of my own Mama Bear - whom I love with my whole heart!

I think I was about 7 years old and it was getting close to Christmas. Living in Florida, we didn't have too many cold days, but I guess we were having one of our cold snaps and I needed an undershirt as extra warmth. I remember getting ready for school on that chilly morning and realizing that I didn't have any of these little shirts that fit me to wear under my sweater that day. So my Mama Bear said, "Wait one second..." and into my room she came with a present from under the tree. This was very unusual for me...I didn't get to open presents before Christmas, so I quickly opened it up and there lay before me a brand new pack of undershirts - all sweet and fresh and in my size.

This may seem like a bizarre little tale to you, but I totally remember feeling like, "Wow, she REALLY loves me." Of course, I knew that before. I NEVER lacked any feelings of love, but for some reason, in my little girl mind, that made it all clear. She wanted me to be warm and she had given me these shirts to do that job.

So why do I tell this story? I guess now that I am a Mama Bear myself, I completely understand that desire and need to protect my own Bear Cub. From the first time that I saw his little picture last April, I wanted only the best for this child. I want to keep him safe, warm, and love him forever and always. And if he ever needs something right before Christmas, guess what? I too will let him open a present so he can be warm on that chilly morning.

Just a memory, and a feeling of understanding... Thanks again for those undershirts, Mama -- I bet you never knew how much I'd appreciate those. :)

Fun times with Bear Cub...

Checking out the cool toys at a new playground we visited...

Mama couldn't help but spike his hair up when it was damp...
This boy LOVES his books...especially his car book from his great-grandparents!
Eating oatmeal with a fork! Yes, a fork...he didn't like the spoon for some reason, so Daddy thought to give him his usual dinner "spork." Great idea and it worked! Of course, breakfast took about 30 minutes, but he's getting the hang of using his utensils! Quite a mess still, as you can see! :)

My Boys...

Bear Cub gives the biggest smiles these days when Daddy comes home. My boys have a lot of fun together and it is so wonderful to watch!

Here are some pictures of the 2 boys that have stolen my heart!

What a pair they are!

18 months ago today...

...our beautiful son was born in a faraway land. We were not there to hold him or to hear his first cries. We would not see him smile for the first time, hold his head up, or roll over for the first time on his own. In fact, we would not meet this son of ours until he was almost 10 months old. I can honestly say that although I did not physically birth him, my husband and I know that he is our true son and was supposed to be ours, from day one. I have loved this child from the beginning. I think I have loved him my whole life, it was just time that stood between us - along with thousands of miles.

People have said to me, "Oh, don't you wish you'd gotten him sooner??" Well, yes, of course I would have loved to have had him sooner and to see those infant milestones that we missed. I used to feel a sadness for him, thinking of what his life would have been like had he been with us from the beginning. But there is nothing I can do to change our adoption timeline. I have come to accept (thanks to the wise words of my dear husband), that Bear Cub's life in Russia and in his hospital, are what have made him who he is today. Do I love him today? Yes, entirely...completely....so much that it hurts sometimes. Would I want him any different than how he is today? Never. So in this regard, I am forever thankful and grateful for those first 12 months of his life in the hospital because they did shape who he is. He is a fighter, a strong boy with definite ideas and opinions, and a child who needs and accepts love openly. I could never have asked for anything more. He is our son and I cherish his beginnings, even though we were not physically a part of them.

Now with that said, I am so very proud of all of the things he has learned, accomplished, and overcome in this short time that he has been legally our son. He learned how to sit up, crawl on all fours, pull himself up, walk, jabber, smile freely, laugh openly, and love without suspicion. These are all milestones that we have witnessed and ones that will be etched into our hearts and minds forever. I know we have so many of these wonderful accomplishments to watch as his life goes on and I am forever thankful for that, as well.

So today I want to wish my Bear Cub of a son a very happy half-birthday!

18 months old today! Hooray!

Bear Cub at 9 1/2 months old - when we first met him

&

Now...

Playing peek-a-boo at the kitchen table with Mama and Daddy!

A New Discovery

I do believe my boy is going to be a climber. The other evening, while doing the dishes and cleaning up after dinner, my hubbie and I quickly turned away from Bear Cub as he happily played at his table and chair set in the living room. I think we both turned around at the same time, and lo and behold, there was our son, joyfully standing up on a chair, smiling proudly.

"Hey Mom & Dad...look what I can do!"

In order to not promote this new found athletic feat, I chose not to reach for my camera, as I typically do when he discovers something new and exciting. So, sorry to say, I do not have proof of that fun occurrence!

BUT...I do have photographic evidence of tonight's after-dinner discovery, which also included a chair. He has learned how to climb into his big blue chair and then proceed onto the couch, all the while clutching his beloved race car in one hand and grunting noisily as he goes along. The end result was very pleasing to him, so I imagine I'll be seeing this trick done over and over again in the coming days.

Let the climbing begin...

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo...

A close encounter with an unusual bird...

"Whoa, Mama!" is what BC said about these fish.

Have no fear...no fingers were lost during this trip!

I do believe it! I do believe it's true!



Ok, for those non-Simon & Garfunkel fans out there, this is the beginning of a great song by this incredible duo! And yes, someone did tell me it's all happening at the zoo....my very own sister!



Thanks to Aunt Bear, we have an annual pass to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. We headed that way this morning and had a great time. Bear Cub LOVES animals, so this was quite an adventure for him. I'd say that he was most excited by a huge fish tank, the Howler monkeys, and the giraffes.



Did you know that a zoo has many other interesting highlights that are not typically posted in the tour map? Well, Bear Cub discovered these hidden treasures! Some of his other favorites included: every recycling bin in the zoo, several large trash cans, and the beloved soda machines. So next time you're at your local zoo, please be sure to take a little time to admire these sights, as well!



Ahhhh....the simple things in life that highly amuse a young toddler....

**If only we could all be filled with such wonder and amazement!**

Thanks again, Aunt Bear, for this gift of a year-ful of fun experiences for our little man!

So our 2 days of winter have left us...

...and we're back to our usual weather around here! Hope you all are having a great weekend so far. I'll upload some more pics in a day or so, but I had to share this one of lil' Bear Cub on one our cold days that we had. As you can tell, I LOVE the red hat on him! :)

A happy Bear Cub at play...

Since I started the blog after the holidays, I won't go into too much detail about our first Christmas at home with BC, except to say that it was wonderful and exciting to finally have a child of our own to celebrate this special holiday with. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and is still having fun playing with all of his new toys! I had to post these pictures of BC "Hard at Play," so you can see the lil' man in action!

Sea World!

Well, today Bear Cub experienced his first theme park....Sea World! It was a very cold morning, so we bundled up, put the 'ol red fuzzy hat on again, and made our way into Orlando with our good friends for a morning of fun and sea adventure! BC loves to look at animals in his books, so I figured he would really enjoy Sea World...and he did! I think he liked the walrus exhibit the best...he was so happy to sit by the glass and watch the HUGE walruses cruise by the window. There was a lot of pointing and "whoa"-ing going on by BC. Good signs that he's enjoying himself! We're looking forward to our next visit!

The weather outside is frightful...

Ok...so maybe not frightful, but pretty darn cold for Florida standards! The temp was in the 40s this morning and we're in for a hard freeze tonight! Tomorrow morning it is supposed to be in the 20s! Does this mean I have to wear socks now? Even the lil' Russian Bear Cub thought it was cold....so cold, he kept a hat on. Now that's a miracle!

An Anniversary...of sorts!

Well, today is January 1 and it's an anniversary that my hubbie (Papa Bear) and I used to celebrate. Today is 11 years that we have "officially" been together! We went to high school together but did not date until our freshman year of college. We actually got together at a mutual friend's New Year's Eve party -- this was 1996 turning to 1997. Wow, so many years ago! Sometimes it feels like yesterday, at other times, it feels like a lifetime ago! We were "an item" from that night on - making January 1 an unoffical anniversary. Here's a photo of us back in January 1997 (what youngins' we were!) and a recent Christmas photo.

So Happy Un-Anniversary to the love of my life!